Pages

Monday, May 7, 2012

HAITI - Suspension - What's left?

Haiti's adoption authority, l'Institut du Bien Être Social et de Recherches
(IBESR), informed U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince that it will suspend processing of
new adoption cases effective May 7, 2012. IBESR indicated that the suspension
will enable it to expedite processing on its backlog of pending cases and begin
internal restructuring to bring it closer to international standards. The U.S.
Embassy has been assured the suspension is temporary and that IBESR will
continue to process all cases that are filed before May 7.

While this is for the good of all those who are currently in process, it is still another reminder that this thing called 'adoption' is not easy.

You just can't adopt from wherever you feel like it - despite the common misconceptions. There are very few... (I'm like talking about a handful here) countries that you actually adopt from, and those that do exist, can always be shut down with no warning. Let's count the possibilities.

Kenya - requires 9 month residencyDRC - new and unstable for BC residents lacking optionsS.Africa - Just re-opened. I don't know if it's availabe for BC residents?Ethiopia - Only applications for special needs and older childrenChina - Special needs Vietnam - Special needsCanada - Older child, special needs RussiaUS - Very expensive, new born - Bio Mother chooses family, long wait lists, risksJapan - Small program with difficult requirements -
- under 43 years of age

married for three years

be childless

(and must make a zillion dollars per year.)Honduras - Must be under 45, process time avg - 4 yrsPhillipines - Special Needs/Older childMorroco - for Muslims onlyIndia - Special Needs or for those of Indian heritage Jamaica - New, Older Child, Unstable, Unpredictable

I haven't heard anything about Thailand or Korea either! You are right about the Phillipines (special needs) and India (although I recently heard it was on hold.. will have to re-look.)Lesotho is on hold!! No one's really talking about it - but it has stalled. Our agency just came back from there, hoping to sort it all out. South Africa - I wonder if any of our agencies would work with MOT for this program... hmmm. I don't know if it's an option for BC residents - but I will add it as well! Thanks Ruth!

Did some more digging. ;) Vietnam and Ukraine are apparently facilitated by TDH Ontario. Ukraine is for children 5 and older, but is closed in BC. Vietnam is also older child, or special needs and is open with CHOICES.

Adoption is looking bleak, but IBESR in Haiti shutting down is actually a good thing all around. It will clear out the files currently in the system (probably find a bunch that got lost along the way and the poor parents have been waiting for over a year), and they are hoping to create a better system for new files entering. It is hard for people who are waiting to enter, but they should still benefit as when IBESR opens, they will hopefully be in and out MUCH quicker. Hoping it actually makes adoption from Haiti a more viable option for others in the future.

Hi - I'm not sure how things work up north of the border (I'm in the U.S.) but what I've seen/heard about Korea is that they have begun a process that will virtually eliminate the possibility of international adoption by the end of 2012 or early 2013...

"Two turtles were discussing meeting God. One said "I can't wait to meet God. I'm going to ask him why He didn’t do something about all the suffering on earth." The other turtle hesitated and responded, "I'm afraid he's going to ask me the same thing."

Who?

As a family of 4, we packed up our lives and moved to Kenya for 8 months to adopt our sweet daughter. We got our hands dirty and fell in love with her country.
.
Adoption, parenting, crunchy living, cooking, travelling, my sleep walking husband... there is no guarantee what I will be posting about next!